Associations of obstetrical characteristics and dietary intakes with iron status among pregnant women in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur

Globally, iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency and the most common cause of anaemia during pregnancy. To date, there is lack of established studies investigating factors associated with iron status during pregnancy in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the associations of obstetrical characteristics and dietary intakes with iron status among pregnant women attending selected health clinics in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur.

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 436 third-trimester pregnant women aged 18–40 years, from six selected health clinics in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. Data on obstetrical characteristics were extracted from the antenatal medical records. Dietary intakes were assessed using an adapted semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire via face-to-face interview. Venous blood samples were collected for the measurement of serum ferritin (SF) using ADVIA Centaur analyser to determine iron status.

Approximately one in four of the pregnant women (25.9%) had iron deficiency, with mean SF of 33.35 ± 25.77µg/l. Factors associated with SF were parity (B = −3.048, p < 0.05), frequency of antenatal care visits (B = 1.456, p < 0.05), haemoglobin (Hb) (B = 3.890, p < 0.05), iron intake (B = 0.010, p < 0.05) and frequency of dietary iron supplementation consumption (B = 3.333, p < 0.05). Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed that dietary factors were significantly associated with SF, after accounting for the obstetrical characteristics.

Besides obstetrical factors, the findings emphasised the importance of dietary factors on iron status during pregnancy. Nutrition consultation service particularly on the sources of iron intake and compliance towards dietary iron supplementation shall be provided to all pregnant women.